Tag: marriage

A Tale as Old as Time: Our Beauty and the Beast Inspired Wedding

It’s been exactly two months since our big day, so I figured it was time to share some magical moments from our Beauty and the Beast inspired wedding. Before we get to all the beautiful details from our special day, let me give you a little background on Derek and I’s relationship.

Derek and I have been together for four years. We met on an online dating website in spring 2014, dated for a little over two years and then we got engaged in October 2016 in Disney World. Since we got engaged in Disney World and since I have literally been obsessed with all things Disney for my entire life, it only made sense for us to have a Disney themed wedding. Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite Disney movie. When I was little, I used to walk down the stairs of my grandparents’ house, toting a basket and a book while singing “Belle” from the movie. I would play Belle and my grandfather would pretend to be the Beast. I have such fond memories of this movie, the characters, the beautiful imagery and of course the beautiful love story between Belle and the Beast.

When I started planning my wedding, I knew I wanted it to have all the Beauty and the Beast vibes, but I didn’t want it to be over the top Disney. I instead went for a more subtle and elegant Disney theme, using the 2017 Beauty and the Beast movie starting Emma Watson as my inspiration. For our wedding décor, I collected vintage clocks, candelabras, books and created my own version of the enchanted rose that I placed under a beautiful glass dome. Our colors were light pink with gold accents.

The wedding ceremony and reception was held at the historic Mount Airy Mansion in Upper Marlboro, Maryland on June 3, 2018 and it was the perfect backdrop for our Beauty and the Beast styled affair. It was a beautiful day, filled with memories that Derek and I will cherish for a lifetime. So here are all the fun wedding day details!

The morning of the wedding, my bridesmaids, mom and I headed over to the mansion where we got our hair and make-up done upstairs in one of the mansion’s suites. The boys arrived around 2 p.m. and they got ready downstairs in one of the mansion’s suites. As we were getting ready in our own rooms, a gift was delivered to me. Derek gifted me a surprise award, highlighting all my accomplishments in 2018! It was a bit of an inside joke, since over the course of the year I kept giving him a hard time about how I wanted an achievement award for juggling buying a new house, getting a new job, completing graduate school and planning a wedding all at the same time. Derek did not disappoint. I laughed, as well as shed a couple tears as I opened the gift and read his very sweet card.

Our ceremony was scheduled to take place outside on the mansion grounds at 4 p.m. but was moved inside due to the rain. They say rain on your wedding day is good luck and it poured, so I would say our marriage is off to a good start! Despite the rain, our wedding ceremony was perfect. The ceremony took place inside the mansion in a room with large windows that brought in lots of natural light. Guests enjoyed a scenic backdrop of the lush greenery on the mansion’s grounds.

My favorite moment from the wedding was walking down the aisle to see Derek waiting for me at the altar. As I walked down the aisle, my youngest brother played “Beauty and the Beast” on the steel drum.

I shed a few happy tears as I approached Derek, who was beaming ear to ear. He kindly wiped my tears away with his pocket square.

My brother Dylan was our officiant and we all enjoyed a few laughs throughout the course of the ceremony. After we exchanged rings and were pronounced husband and wife, our guests enjoyed cocktail hour while we took pictures with our wedding party.

Once cocktail hour ended, we all entered for the reception. We entered the reception, along with our wedding party to the song “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis. Following our entrance, we had our first dance to “Beauty and the Beast” sung by Celine Dion. Isn’t it amazing that I got Derek to dance to a Disney song at our wedding? I would say he is a keeper!

We then enjoyed a dinner catered by Mission BBQ and listened to some beautiful heartfelt speeches from our friends and family. After visiting with all our guests, we snuck outside for some private photos with our amazing photographer Ashton Kelley. Keep in mind it had been raining all day and the grounds were really wet. I knew that my heels would sink in the wet ground. Ashton literally threw off her flats, gave them to me and ran around barefoot outside so she could capture our gorgeous wedding shots. Ashton, you are my hero! Taking pictures outside was another one of my favorite moments from the day. It was so nice to sneak away and share some intimate moments with one another. We are so thankful that these moments were captured in photos that we will cherish forever.

After returning to the mansion, we cut our wedding cake.

We then changed into some more comfortable clothes and joined our guests on the dance floor. At the end of the night, we shared one last slow dance before saying goodnight to our guests.

I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect wedding day. The beautiful venue, delicious food, great music and dancing were all amazing. Beyond that, the most special part of day was getting to marry the love of my life and share this special milestone that we will look back on for years to come. It was a day that I will never forget and it was truly a fairytale.

For more special moments from our wedding day, you can view our wedding highlight video here!

Our Jamaican Honeymoon at Sandals South Coast

I’m back! And I’m officially a married lady! Derek and I were married on June 3, 2018. We had a beautiful ceremony and reception at the Mount Airy Mansion in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. It was a very special day that we shared among family and friends. I will be sharing a wedding recap, along with our wedding photos in an upcoming blog post. Stay tuned!

Until then, don’t mind me while I gush over our phenomenal honeymoon at Sandals South Coast resort in White House, Jamaica. I found out about this resort through a fellow food blogger (check out her blog here), who honeymooned at Sandals South Coast in May 2017. She and her husband loved it and we took their word for it. After honeymooning there for a week, we are obsessed with this resort and deemed this our best vacation EVER!

The day after our wedding, my husband and I flew to Jamaica. It was our first time traveling to Jamaica and we were so anxiously excited! When we arrived at the airport, we got our passports stamped, grabbed our bags and headed to the Sandals kiosk. After checking in with the Sandals staff members, they took our bags, provided us with complimentary refreshments and directed us to complimentary shuttles that would transport us to our resort. Our resort was approximately an hour and a half away from the airport. Although it was a bit of a drive, I really enjoyed the scenic ride.

The view from our room.

As soon as we arrived at the resort, we were immediately greeted by friendly Sandals greeters, who provided us with cool towels and champagne. They quickly took our bags and whisked them away to our room. After a quick resort briefing, we headed to our Beachfront Luxury room in the French Village. Our room included a king size bed, couch, standard bathroom and a balcony that overlooked the beautiful sparkling blue ocean. Clean and very well kept, our room was cleaned every day, mini fridge was restocked every afternoon and we received turn down service every night.

Beachfront Luxury room in the French Village.

The resort was breathtaking. Set on a 500-acre nature preserve, the resort’s landscaping, as well as it’s wild life was picturesque. Turquoise waters, surrounded by rolling mountains, covered in lush greenery was the perfect backdrop for our romantic getaway. It was truly a tropical paradise. Enchanting creatures, such as majestic peacocks, beautiful birds and funny looking crabs were often seen roaming the resort.

One of the beautiful peacocks that roam the resort.

Sandals resorts are all-inclusive, which means that alcoholic beverages, meals, water sports and entertainment is all included in the price that you pay for your stay. This was my first time staying at an all-inclusive and it was such a treat! It was so nice to know that everything was paid for, so we could easily walk around the resort with no wallet and not have to stress about money.

My husband and I enjoying a beautiful evening at Sandals South Coast.

One of my favorite things about our trip was that we had no agenda and it was pure relaxation. Each day on our trip, we slept in and started our day by enjoying a nice hot breakfast at Bayside Restaurant prior to hitting the beach and pools. During the day, we relaxed on the beach and participated in some of the many water sports. We did it all! We took a glass bottom boat out to see the coral reefs, went kayaking, tubing, sailing and Derek paid extra to learn how to scuba dive! The beaches were gorgeous and so much fun to play on during the day!

Fun in the sun!

After going to the beach, each afternoon we headed back to the room to shower and get ready to go out to dinner. Sandals South Coast had a total of 9 restaurants, which offered a variety of cuisines. The food was fabulous and some of the best meals that I’ve ever eaten! One of my favorite dishes  was the lasagna at Giuseppe’s. It was literally the best lasagna I’ve ever had in my life! I actually gave my compliments to my chef, that was how impressed I was.

I also was able to try some Asian inspired dishes that I don’t get to eat back home. Asian cuisine is often prepared with peanut ingredients, which is a no no for this peanut allergic girl. Sandals was extremely accommodating with food allergies and dietary restrictions. I was able to meet with the head chef at the beginning of our trip and he provided me with a background of things to avoid, how they prepare the food and notified me that if I wanted any alternate menu options, to just let the restaurant know and they would make something special for me. Every time we sat down at dinner, the server asked if we had any dietary restrictions and would make a note for the kitchen. I honestly can’t say enough wonderful things about our dining experiences at this resort and I’m pretty sure I came back 5 pounds heavier because we ate a lot!

My first time trying Sushi! The chef made me a special veggie roll.

Following dinner, we typically would hang out at the bars or go to see a show. They had a lot of fun evening activities like a dance party on the beach, a newlyweds game show and my favorite was the Silver Birds Steel Orchestra! In addition to the complimentary activities, we also booked some other activities at an additional cost. We booked a romantic candle lit dinner on the beach and a relaxing couples massage. We also went out on a Catamaran cruise. Another important note about Sandals is that it is adult only, so there are no kids on property. This is a nice perk for couples who are looking for a quiet and romantic getaway.

Derek and I on our Catamaran cruise excursion.

Derek and I had such a fabulous time at this resort. More importantly, we were able to relax and enjoy some much-needed time together as newlyweds. If I can provide any advice to those who are planning a wedding, I would recommend leaving for your honeymoon the day after your wedding. I was told from various people that I was nuts for flying out the next day, but I’m honestly so thankful we did! It was so exciting and such a relief to wake up the day after our wedding and know that we would shortly be in paradise, and on a fun adventure together as newlyweds!

Romantic candle lit dinner for two.

The entire Sandals experience was nothing short of amazing. The beautiful beaches, friendly staff, delicious food and all the fun activities made for a honeymoon that we will never forget. Derek and I were so pleased with our experience that we have already booked our next Sandals trip for our 1 year wedding anniversary at Sandals Royal Caribbean in Jamaica. We are already missing Jamaica, but we are so excited to go back in a year! If you have ever considered booking an all-inclusive stay with Sandals…DO IT! You surely won’t regret it.

 

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage

OH, MY GOODNESS! It’s been over a month since I last blogged, which is way too long! I guess that is a reflection as to how crazy things have been! The month of May has flown by! It’s been such a fun month, filled with milestones and major accomplishments.

Cinco de Mayo Bridal Shower Festivities

On May 5, my family and friends threw me an awesome Cinco de Mayo themed bridal shower, filled with lots of yummy Mexican food and sangria. It was such a fun time to get together with family, friends and celebrate Derek and I’s upcoming nuptials. That same night, my closest friends and I went out to Annapolis for my local bachelorette party. We did a paint night, which was super fun, low key and a perfect ending to a very exciting day!

Paint Night Bachelorette Party

On May 19, I graduated with my master’s degree from Loyola University Maryland. After three years of working full-time and pursuing my graduate degree, I was so relieved to walk across that stage and receive my degree.

On May 25, Derek and I went to the courthouse to get our marriage license. It’s so surreal that in just four days we will be married! Amidst all the craziness and excitement in May, I’ve also taken some time to reflect on my life as a “Miss.”

I’ve been very fortunate over the last 27 years. I come from a very loving and supporting family. They have supported me in all my endeavors and continue to do so every day. As I grew up, they have been there along the way as I discovered my passions, dancing, performing, writing, cooking, baking and education. Their unwavering love and support has been a constant force in motivating me to continue to grow each day of my life.

As a “Miss”, I’ve had the opportunity to receive a wonderful education. I attended college and discovered my love for marketing and communications. I joined Tri Delta, where I met some of my best friends and was able to grow as a leader. I also had the opportunity to intern for The Walt Disney Company and participated in the Disney College Program, which had been a dream of mine forever.

My best friend, sorority sister and maid of honor. Sarah and I met at Towson University and she was my little sister in Tri Delta.

After college, I met my best friend and almost husband Derek. Shortly after, I got my first “Big Girl Job” in marketing at a major healthcare institution. And in the last four years of our relationship, I feel like I’ve done it all! I successfully completed my master’s degree, we bought a house, started new business ventures and got new jobs. I continued to do the things that I love most, dancing, performing, cooking and I launched Stress Less, Cook More.

And of course, life is not perfect and it’s not sunshine and rainbows all the time. In my lifetime, I’ve had my fair share of challenges, faced heart break, hardships and individuals who have hurt me, treated me unfairly or hurt other’s that I love. But without those challenges, I wouldn’t be who I am today. They have made me stronger and I am so thankful for every experience, whether good or bad.

Most importantly, in the last 27 years I’ve come to love myself. I am proud of who I am today and all that I have accomplished. I’m a true believer that you must love yourself first, before you can truly and deeply love someone else. I am beyond grateful for my friends, family and Derek, the people that I get to walk through life with, who have helped to shape who I am. Without you, I wouldn’t be who I am today. Because of you, I’ve grown to love myself and because of that I know that I’m ready for my next big adventure, marriage!

I am confident that Derek and I’s marriage will be successful, one filled with lots of laughter, accomplishments and lots of love. As I transition from “Miss” to “Mrs.”, I am very hopeful for the future and all that it will bring. Here’s to happily ever after and all of our dreams coming true! See ya at the alter Derek! Cheers!